androdev

Happen to read about some terrible accident with a BMW that caught fire and the occupants were charred to death. I am disturbed by the prospects of vehicle catching fire and doors not opening, etc. So I have few questions:

1. Which window is the easiest to break open for emergency exit? I notice that the side window glass is a bonded two panel glass. Is the rear window also made of double panel glass?

2. My car came with a fire extinguisher under the front seat. What is the expiry period/service schedule for this?

3. Can the sunroof be opened (2012 model) manually?

I expect some funny replies, but looking forward to some useful comments as well.

Nuru

you should be able to kick out the front or back windshields - keep a hammer or something really hard to bash out the side windows - good luck on your testing

raymond g-

i believe the side windows are simply tempered vs the more sturdy front / rear
windows (laminated). kicking the front/rear loose only works in movies or if
the accident has compromised them greatly.

using a hammer requires swinging and force, depending on design. you may
even have been injured or in shock.

these little spring loaded devices are the cat's meow (for tempered glass). i
have one in each car. the weighted hammers are also good with the pointed
carbide tip. many emergency tools of this ilk also have a built in seat belt
cutter. you might even have a spring loaded machinist center punch sitting
around in your garage...

example

androdev

Side windows in W221 are also laminated for sure. Firemen/rescue forums mention using a saw to cut laminated glass. Not sure about the sunroof.

How to break a Mercedes window-A Fireman's Perspective:
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w140...rspective.html

swatty

Pretty sure your Mercedes doors will always open from the inside , unlike some other makes .

The Thomas J

Possible solutions Make the cars water tight wait for rescue. Fire is a different issue that I have no solution for.